The Delhi High Court has dismissed Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea seeking quashing of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered against her in the ₹200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The Court, in a detailed 95-page order delivered by Justice Anish Dayal on July 3, rejected Fernandez’s contention that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had adopted a discriminatory “pick and choose” approach.
The actor had alleged that the ED unfairly proceeded only against her while other television celebrities like Nikki Tamboli, Chahatt Khanna, and Sophia Singh—who also allegedly received gifts from Chandrasekhar—were not made accused in the case. She further cited the example of actor Nora Fatehi’s relative allegedly receiving a luxury car from the accused.
The court, however, held that such an argument could not be accepted at the stage of quashing an FIR. “Whether the investigating agency chose a pick and choose policy or decided not to proceed against the others, based on the merits of the case, is not an issue under consideration before this court; petitioner is always at liberty to raise this issue at an appropriate stage,” the order stated.

The court further noted, “The issue of parity may be an aspect which the court does consider while granting bail, however, the same cannot by extension or extrapolation, be made applicable to a case of quashing, which would erase the ECIR qua the accused petitioner, completely.”
Fernandez had claimed that the other actors not only met Chandrasekhar inside Tihar Jail but also received expensive gifts, and yet no proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) were initiated against them.
Countering the plea, ED’s counsel argued that Fernandez had not denied receiving gifts worth ₹7.12 crore from Chandrasekhar, and that additional gifts worth ₹1.12 crore were delivered to her sister in Sri Lanka. The counsel submitted that allegations regarding receipt and retention of proceeds of crime were sufficient to invoke money laundering proceedings under the PMLA.
Rejecting the actor’s arguments, the court concluded, “The petition and plea of petitioner cannot be entertained for quashing of the ECIR dated August 8, 2021 and 2nd supplementary complaint dated August 17, 2022. The petition is, therefore, dismissed.”
Fernandez is named as an accused in the money laundering case registered against Sukesh Chandrasekhar, who is also facing multiple criminal investigations across the country. The Delhi Police had earlier arrested Chandrasekhar and his wife Leena Paulose for allegedly defrauding the spouses of former Ranbaxy promoters, Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, of ₹200 crore.
Both Chandrasekhar and Paulose have also been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), with allegations of having used hawala channels, created shell companies, and engaged in laundering proceeds of crime in collaboration with other accused individuals.
Fernandez had earlier appeared before the ED several times for questioning in connection with the case.